National Law Enforcement Museum — Attraction in Washington

Opened in October 2018, the National Law Enforcement Museum is one of the newest museums in Washington, D.C. Appropriately located next to the Law Enforcement Museum (right outside of the National Building Museum directly above the Judiciary Square Metro (Red Line), the museum is entirely underground (with the exception of a glass entrance with security and a glass exit). Here's what's to love and here's what's to not:

What to love:

1. Film: Out of all the museums, they have some of the best, most engaging films you can watch throughout, especially the 20-minute introduction film. It's worth your time!

2. Exhibits: For a seemingly small and dry subject, they do a good job of creating exhibits that are interactive, thought provoking, and interesting. The detective exhibit is especially interesting! In the back, they have a community law enforcement room telling the stories of five cities. You can also write in what community law enforcement means for you! They also have a very cool 20-minute security simulation that is great for older kids.

3. Staff: All the staff were very kind and helpful!

4. Remembrance Room: There is a room remembering fallen law enforcement where you can write a tribute to them. So honoring!

What's to not love:

1. Price: An adult ticket is $23.27 after taxes making it one of two of the most expensive museums in D.C. I support paying for museums, but the price seems steep for a very small museum. In a city full of large, free museums, people may find it off-putting.

2. Size: It's small. You can literally stand in the center and do a 360 spin and make eye contact with every single exhibit. That said, if you read everything, you may find yourself there for 2-3 hours, but the physical space is small, especially compared to the large Smithsonians in the city.

3. Omissions: Given the rise of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the fact that minorities have been preyed upon by law enforcement (consciously or unconsciously), I think the museum could have done a better job of honoring that fact. They did showcase community law enforcement and did a good job of showing law enforcement of all backgrounds in the films. However, I did leave wondering if they would tell the story of #BlackLivesMatter and what police are doing to partner with the movement. Several museums do this like the National Underground Railroad Museum in Ohio. At the end, they give the status of slavery today and what is being done about it. This museum could do the same by talking about the current climate around US law enforcement.

All in all, it's worth one visit to this museums if you are willing to...

Interesting. The museum is situated in the DC judicial district amidst courthouses and law firms, so there's a certain poignancy to it. But it's also well off the main tourist traffic routes, and seems under-visited. Given the technological sophistication, cost, and polish of the presentations, I would also wager that it's overcapitalized. More employees milled around than visitors during our time there on a Sunday afternoon over a holiday weekend. I gather from press reports that if the museum is not in a state of receivership, it may at some point be. The spaces are large and open, the exhibits thoughtfully arranged and presented, and the overall theme a laudable one (to the fury of some commentators, the basic presumption behind the place is that the enforcement of public order is a positive social good, and that the story of law enforcement in America is one of fundamentally good, well-meaning people performing a tough, compromising job). Some of the artifacts were damned cool (J.Edgar Hoover's desk and chair...wow!), but given how deeply, broadly, and sometimes tensely policing is woven into the history of modern America, they were surprisingly thin. My teenage son participated in an armed tactical decision-making scenario conducted by an experienced trainer, and came away impressed and very thoughtful about what it involved. That alone made the entire visit worthwhile, but I can understand the gripes by some in this review thread about the high price of adult admission. In another community, in a different town, a museum like this might stand out. But the tourist market in DC is crowded and high-quality, and a place like this needs more downmarket appeal. Were I running it, I would collect more swag and fill the place with stuff - more actual historical gear, perhaps, preferably attached to lurid narratives - and perhaps go edgier with deeper, more extensive looks at especially controversial moments. I'm writing this on MLK day, for the love of Pete. No tour of policing in modern America - no matter how fundamentally positive - is complete without a picture of Birmingham cops putting the dogs on black citizens. Most thoughtful, intelligent people like being intellectually and morally challenged - at least within limits - and they like museums that...

I had an appointment in DC near capital hill. On my way out I thought to my self "It's too bad I didn't make plans to see a museum today, oh well" and started back to the metro station. Just next to the Judiciary Square metro I came upon some sort of event staging up. I was told that the event was open to the public, so I went in to have a look. There was a marching troupe of bagpipe players belting out various hymns. When they were finished I turned to leave, only to find I was surrounded by a crowd of hundreds of police officers, FBI, NCIS, Secret Service, senators, press and celebrities. I had stumbled into the grand opening ceremonies of the National Law Enforcement Museum! And the VIP section had filled in around me. I saw the whole ceremony, then got swept into the VIP tour of the upper level of the museum. I got within ten feet of Clint Eastwood, he's still alive! I also got up close to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, got a selfie with former D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey (his idea) and shook former attorney general John Ashcroft's hand, twice! The museum is relatively small; but well...